ZONE: The Rusty Axe

Yel pocketed the coins and poured out a mug of golden ale, which she passed over the counter to the Venator. She watched as he took it, trying to decide whether her conversation with Tom could be salvaged. Probably not.

As she finished, two figures wandered in from the back, deep in conversation.

".. your own fault, Dargnin. When he challenges you to a drinking contest, you say no." Agnar was trying his best to look irritated, but it was clear to all that he was holding back laughter.

The other figure, a dwarf, looked very much the worse for wear. "Shhhh. Let's keep it nice and quiet now shall we Agnar?"

Agnar laughed. "Everything all right here Yel?"

Yel inclined her head in Lydus' direction. "Just getting this gentleman a drink." The pause before the word gentleman was almost unnoticeable.

"Lowering the quality of another establishment, Lydus?" a sweet voice said from the doorway—possibly confusing any lookers until they lowered their gaze a bit. The Venatori order was not an exceptionally large one, and she had been in it for quite some time; Hollí prided herself on knowing most of its members—by reputation, if nothing else. Identifying Lydus had taken but an instant.

All sub-five-feet of fiery-haired elf quickly made her way to the bar, hopping up on a stool—literally; she had to give herself a boost up with her hands. Stupid tall human stools...—pointedly taking one of the couple between Lydus and the knight. "Please excuse my colleague. He gets cranky" she said to the knight in the fancy armor, smiling, her voice cheery. "I'm Hollí" she introduced herself, holding out a hand.

She then gave a little wave to attract the raven-haired serving girl. "Excuse me. Could I get what he's having?" she asked, gesturing at the knight's decimated meat-pie.

While she waited, she discovered that her stool was not quite balanced—one leg a touch shorter than the others. Hooking her legs behind two of the stool's, she started rocking it slowly back and forth with slight shifts of her weight—almost as if she were riding an imaginary horse—seemingly without a care in the world.

The smelly little Venator tried to snap a comeback, but Drake didn't find it interesting enough to bother acknowledging, so he focused on finishing his drink and his meal. He forced himself to go a bit slower, so he wouldn't lose any excuse he had to hang around the bar. There was no reason to leave Yel alone with the creep - and hopefully he'd leave soon and Drake could resume his shameless flirting.

"Lowering the quality of another establishment, Lydus?" a sweet voice said from the doorway... a rather short elf girl. Drake glanced over his shoulder when she spoke, keeping it brief and unreadably casual. She was a Venator, too.

Well, crap. Why in the hell were so many Venatori tromping through this place all of a sudden? The one Venator he'd wanted to find here was nowhere to be seen.

The elf made her way over and took a seat between Tom and Lydus. "Please excuse my colleague. He gets cranky" she said to the knight in the fancy armor, smiling, her voice cheery. "I'm Hollí" she introduced herself, holding out a hand.

"I can see that," Drake replied, in regards to her partner, but he returned her smile and took her hand - to give her fingers a brief kiss. "Sir Tom Drake, Demon Slayer of Illikon. It's a pleasure."

After introductions, the elf Venator waved Yel back over and put in her order, before she started rocking back and forth on her slightly wobbly stool. Not bothered, Drake finished off what little was left of his meal.

Once he had, he turned back to Hollí to spark up a bit of perfectly innocent and casual, friendly conversation - or at least that was all it seemed to be. "So, what's a pair of Venatori doing around here? Monsters lurking around, or are you just passing through?"

Agnar leaned against a wall behind the bar and watched with interest. He was far sharper than the average patron would guess, and it was clear the charming knight had more than an innocent interest in the Venators' motives. This one would need watching.

Yel squeezed past him, moving towards the kitchen for another pie order. She walked past Dargnin, the hungover dwarf apparently asleep standing up by the kitchen door, and made a point of slamming the door behind her.

An older man, one who looked enough like Yel for Lydus to decide he was her father, wandered in with a clearly hungover dwarf. He paused to ask the girl if she was fine.

Lydus couldn’t keep a toothy smirk from splitting his face at Yel’s reply. "Just getting this gentleman a drink." He failed to notice any pause... or, at least, he chose to ignore it.

“Aye, gentleman…” He grinned, slamming back his tankard to drain about half of it in one go. He let it slam back down onto the counter, accompanied by a victorious belch. “Ahhhh…”

His reverie, however, was quickly interrupted.

"Lowering the quality of another establishment, Lydus?" a sweet voice said from the doorway of the establishment. The formerly lone Venator sighed, a distinct edge of irritation returning to his voice as he glanced over his shoulder at… yep. Shorty McShort-Shorts, shortest of elves and non-dwarf Venatori. At least, as far as Lydus cared to know.

The fiery-haired elf quickly made her way to the bar, hopping up on a stool - literally, which amused Sticky-Fingers to no end - pointedly taking one of the couple between Lydus and the knight. "Please excuse my colleague. He gets cranky" she said to the knight in the fancy armor, smiling, her voice cheery.

Lydus’s face was divided neatly by a frown. “Well some’ne’s got to, with you being so damned cheerful…” He paused. “...Most of the time, anyway.” He murmured.

He let her introduce herself and order something - though the nob kissing her fingers didn’t go unnoticed - and then, like the child she acted, she rocked her stool.

Tip.

Tap.

Tip.

Tap.

TIP.

TAP.

Moments before Lydus snapped and did something violent, Drake’s voice cut through the increasingly tense atmosphere. "So, what's a pair of Venatori doing around here? Monsters lurking around, or are you just passing through?"

Sticky-Fingers chortled. “Oh I bet you already took care a’ all the monsters roun’ here, ‘demon-slayer’.” Lydus snorted, slamming back the rest of his ale before wiping what dregs ended up on his lips and chin off with his filthy sleeve. “We’re keeping our ears, pointy an’ round, out for anythin’ too much for knights ‘n shiny armor. Y’know, real work, nob.”

"Which is a rather long-winded way of saying: 'just passing through'" she said without blinking an eye—or ceasing her rocking on the stool. "What about you?" she asked Tom. She had heard of his exploits, of course, but nothing recent. "Been busy lately?"

"This means I will not have to regret sending back their envoy short a few limbs."

"Which is a rather long-winded way of saying: 'just passing through'" she said without blinking an eye—or ceasing her rocking on the stool.

"Right," Drake replied. "Your partner really needs to get the knot out of his panties."

"What about you?" she asked Tom. She had heard of his exploits, of course, but nothing recent. "Been busy lately?"

The knight shrugged casually. "Not particularly, really. I've been doing some traveling away from home, since things in Illikon have been quiet for a long time. I'm not gonna complain, for her sake, but I went traveling with some friends - including one of your number, Caiden Voros. I'm actually just coming back from Kemhet, so it's been a long journey."

Yel felt a slightly hollow feeling inside as she watched the knight kiss the other woman's hand. It was stupid, they were essentially strangers, and it was foolish of her to think they had any kind of connection.

She placed the drink down in front of Holli with slightly more force than necessary.

Her spirits rose at the sight of Hori entering the room.The old man had always been very kind to all of them.

----

"Good Morning Agnar; it is good to still see you and your tavern again."

Agnar smiled broadly. "Hori! It's been a while. What can I get you?"

"May I have a cup of tea, preferably from the East if you have any, as well as whatever this Imperial Lad is having?"

Yel answered quickly, before Agnar had a chance. She clearly wanted an excuse to leave the room for a moment.

"I'll go and put the kettle on. The pie will be a few minutes."

"Thanks Yel," her father replied. "Sir Drake here would like another pie as well while you're in there."

Yel nodded sharply and marched through. The noise woke Dargnin, who winced slightly before beaming at the sight of Hori.

Hollí wondered what was bothering the serving-girl: as she plonked a drink—a drink she had not ordered—in front of her with unnecessary force. She almost pointed out this fact, but Drake distracted her:

"Right. Your partner really needs to get the knot out of his panties."

She snorted as she rather unsuccessfully tried to repress a laugh. "He's not really my partner. This"—she gestured between Lydus and herself—"is a temporary thing." At least, she hoped it would be.

"Not particularly, really. I've been doing some traveling away from home, since things in Illikon have been quiet for a long time. I'm not gonna complain, for her sake, but I went traveling with some friends - including one of your number, Caiden Voros. I'm actually just coming back from Kemhet, so it's been a long journey."

"Oh, so that's why I haven't seen him around Greywatch lately" she replied. "Well, any friend of Caiden is a friend of mine" she said with a smile, hoisting her unasked-for drink before taking a sip. She didn't normally drink this early in the day, but since it was there...

"I've never been to Kemhet; is it nice?" she asked cheerily.

"I'll go and put the kettle on. The pie will be a few minutes."

"Thanks Yel. Sir Drake here would like another pie as well while you're in there."

"I'd like a meat-pie, too!" she called out after the raven-haired girl. While not particularly parched, she was rather hungry.

"This means I will not have to regret sending back their envoy short a few limbs."

"Which is a rather long-winded way of saying: 'just passing through'" Holli ‘clarified’ for Lydus without blinking an eye—or ceasing her damned rocking on the stool. "What about you? Been busy lately?"

Sticky-Fingers murmured incoherently under his breath… admittedly, mostly to zone out the damned rocking of that stupid stool and Tom’s quips. Couldn’t have found a half-decent establishment with evenly-made stools, ohhhh no…

Her emphasis on their partnership being temporary was not taken sourly by Lydus. Sure, the elf was a pretty thing - those cheeky pointy-ears all had good genes, it seemed - but that didn’t make her the best of company.

Drake mentioned something about coming from Kemhet, which perked Holli’s interest even as the elf got a drink unasked for. Lydus smirked as they spoke, quietly reaching for the mug… only to scowl as she took a sip of it. She didn’t drink! At least, not as much as Sticky-Fingers did. Hell, she didn’t ask for one-

"I'd like a meat-pie, too!" she called out after the raven-haired tavern wench.

Lydus scowled, looking around for a menu. “By the gods, you two are going to clean this place’s supply of meat out for weeks.” He pointed out. “There’s gotta be somethin’ else to eat here, right, wench?" He demanded of Yel.

"I bought this from a smuggler in Khemet," he said as he handed the small statue to Dargnin "and he swore that the lizard people in the deep jungles actually worship these things. He also told me it brings good fortune, but a Templar I met told me it was cursed and tried to break it. I'm not sure who to believe."

"I bought this from the same man." he continued as he handed the necklace to Yel "He claimed that it was from a chieftain's daughter from the Deep South, and I think it would look well on you."

"And I actually obtained this from a dealer in Vertishire." he finished as he handed the box to Agnar "It's fire root; made from peppers that tribesmen grow in the south. I tried a little and had to drink water for an hour before the burning in my mouth went away."

Yel had just finished serving out the food when she found herself the object of the grubby Venator once more. "There’s gotta be somethin’ else to eat here, right, wench?"

Dargnin wrinkled his nose, unimpressed. "Watch your manners lad, or you'll have me to answer to. I can bring you some bread and broth if the pie doesn't take your fancy."

The pair, along with Agnar, engaged in conversation with Hori while they awaited Lydus' decision, graciously accepting his gifts.

"This is beautiful Hori, thank you!" said Yel, leaning forward to gently kiss the man on the cheek. She gathered her midnight black hair together behind her head, revealing ears ending in a gentle point, before pulling the necklace over her head and letting the hair fall again.

Holli snorted as she rather unsuccessfully tried to repress a laugh. "He's not really my partner. This"—she gestured between Lydus and herself—"is a temporary thing."

Drake gave a nod. "I hope so, for your sake," he replied rather simply.

"Oh, so that's why I haven't seen him around Greywatch lately" she replied to his comments regarding Caiden. "Well, any friend of Caiden is a friend of mine" she said with a smile, hoisting her unasked-for drink before taking a sip.

He smiled back. "Caiden's been a good friend of mine for years... I was hoping to find him again at some point, but I haven't had any luck yet."

"I've never been to Kemhet; is it nice?" she asked cheerily.

Drake shrugged. "I'd certainly say so. Their culture is just as ancient as Old Achaea, and there's a lot of rich history to be around... But if you go too far out of civilization, you'd better really like sand," he added a bit wryly.

Meanwhile, Yel served the food. Drake gave her a smile and his thanks, laying out a few more gold coins for the food. It was too many again, but he clearly didn't have plans to take any back.

"Caiden's been a good friend of mine for years... I was hoping to find him again at some point, but I haven't had any luck yet."

"Yeah, we do tend to travel a lot. There're members of the order I haven't seen in over a year" Hollí replied with a slight shrug. "But that's the job."

She took another sip of her drink before setting it down—on the opposite side of her from Lydus; she had noticed his greedy hand's stealthy groping.

"Well, I suppose if you ran towards any rumors of monster activity, sooner or later you'd cross his path" she said after a moment. "Not that I would normally recommend that—or even not seriously advise against it—but... Given your reputation, I guess you would probably be fine" she said with a cheeky grin.

"I'd certainly say so. Their culture is just as ancient as Old Achaea, and there's a lot of rich history to be around... But if you go too far out of civilization, you'd better really like sand."

"Hmm... I dunno, I've never really seen much sand. It's funny: thirty-eight years in the order, and I've only ever been sent on assignments in the Empire and the North. Well, maybe one of these days..."

A moment later she was distracted as the food was finally served. "Thank you" she said as her pie was set before her—managing to maintain her manners in the face of her hunger and the tantalizing smell wafting off of the food. "How much will that be?" she asked the serving girl, reaching for her coinpurse.

“By the gods, you two are going to clean this place’s supply of meat out for weeks.”

"Well, you can eat lesser fare if you want. But when a girl's hungry, she needs real, serious food" she retorted to her impolite colleague. She lifted her fork, digging it into the pie and—

“There’s gotta be somethin’ else to eat here, right, wench?"

Hollí paused, a dripping slice of pie—too large for the fork it precariously balanced on—halfway to her mouth, and rolled her eyes in exasperation. She turned to Lydus: "Look, if I buy you a meal, or another drink, will you be polite and shut up?" she asked bluntly.

"Well, you can eat lesser fare if you want. But when a girl's hungry, she needs real, serious food." Hollí said, staying good natured after Lydus’s less-than-hostile comment about how many meat pies were being served.

“More than just meat pies that meat pies that meet that… thingie.” He murmured, crossing his arms, before making his distinctly less polite comment.

A dwarf - some stumpy, bearded blighter who seemed to be on the innkeep’s payroll - wrinkled his nose, unimpressed. "Watch your manners lad, or you'll have me to answer to. I can bring you some bread and broth if the pie doesn't take your fancy."

Before Lydus could open his mouth to quip back in his usual fashion, Hollí rolled her eyes in exasperation. She turned to Lydus: "Look, if I buy you a meal, or another drink, will you be polite and shut up?" she asked bluntly.

Sticky-fingers was, for a moment, clearly caught off-guard. Oh you should know even she would be this stup- oh drop the damned act already… He rolled his eyes back with a sigh, slamming the rest of his drink back. Sliding off his stool, setting the mug down and letting out a wet belch in one smooth motion, Lydus started heading for the door. “Peh, as if. I’ll be outside.” He huffed, vaguely wondering if anyone would stop him, one way or another, before he took his leave.